Easy Fingerless Mitts....

 What a simple knitted project these little fingerless mitts are!

 Knitted flat and sewn up along the thumb side,

 they are a perfect beginner pattern!

I knitted this pair with

1 x 50gm ball of Patons Australia Jet (70% Wool, 30% Alpaca)

and a pair of  4.5 mm (US 7) needles.

You can find the pattern by Roxanne Richardson

on Ravelry Here

I am really enjoying doing a bit of knitting again....

I am also working on a couple of crochet projects and

the ever growing tunisian crochet dr who scarf :) 

It has been cold and rainy here the perfect weather for working with yarn,

be it hook, needle or nook!

have a happy day

~ Gillian ♥

warm bread and a little book love....

 My bread making skills are growing each time I make a loaf,

I know I still have a lot to learn, but now the bread I am turning out of the tin is so much better than my first efforts.  This loaf was made using my Kitchen Aid, with no hand kneading at all. 

The only problem with home baked bread that I can see is that it just doesn't last very long....

because every slice is devoured and enjoyed :)

  I finally gave in and ordered a copy of

down to earth

by Rhonda Hetzel

and it arrived TODAY - yay!

 Guess where my head will be buried for the next little while ;)

all I can say is LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!

I'm off to read my new book

have a happy day

~ Gillian ♥

Prism Scarf....

 I really enjoyed working with knitting needles again
to make this cute little scarf.

I know there are a couple of small mistakes and maybe my tension isn't perfect...but hey, its warm and soft and pretty :)  and I am sure in time my knitting skills will improve, at least I hope so..lol!

I used almost 4 balls of Lincraft Prism (wool/soy) and 6mm needles

and the pattern can be found on the Lincraft website Here

My scarf measures approx 11cm x 185cm (unblocked)

I really love the way the colours of the wool worked with the stripe pattern of the scarf and it was a joy to work from start to finish.

I hope you are having a lovely day,

~ Gillian ♥

Giant Granny Square Blanket....

 I finally finished my giant granny square blanket a little while ago, but I have been waiting for a good dry day to take some photos.  So pleased to have this blanket complete :)

 It is 182.9 cm (6 feet) square 

and weighs approx 2.85kg! (heavy but cuddly)

 made by holding two strands together.
Repeated colour pattern for the main body of blanket is -
Red & Cream x 2
Cream & Cream x 2
Brown & Cream x 2
Cream & Cream x 2

My granny square has 2ch in each corner and 1ch in between each granny cluster.

For the Border - (holding two strands together as per the blanket) First Round - I worked htr (UK/aust) in each tr (UK/aust) and chain space, with 1htr, 2ch, 1htr in corners. work another two rounds 1htr in each htr of previous round and 1htr,2ch,1htr in each corner.

It has worked up beautifully soft and chunky :)
I have used this yarn before for other projects,  and I know it wears beautifully and washes well.
That is why I was keen to create this blanket using Coton-a,

even though I know it would require a ‘LOT’ of balls!
I love how the cream & colour hooked together look like red & white packing string.

Made using Sullivans Coton-a and 6mm hook.

Hope you are having a creative day

~ Gillian ♥

Two pointy sticks.....

 I've been toying with the idea of picking up some knitting needles again...

It has been a few years since I knitted a scarf
and even then it was only Garter Stitch.

When I was in high school, my mum and I went off to evening classes to learn everything you could want to know about knitting....

only thing was we seemed to spend the whole week knitting little sample squares ready for the next class and I got a bit feed up with only making them and not a real project.

This made me put my needles away for years and

I forgot almost everything I had learned except for a few basic stitches.

Recently I have been falling in love with many of the knitted projects on Ravelry and this morning I was reading Omlair's blog and her post inspired me to get on with it and relearn how to knit!  So off I headed down to Lincraft and bought some wool and picked up a leaflet and came home and started :)

.........................................

I am making a simple rib scarf called Prism Scarf (named after the yarn used)

and using Prism yarn, it is a worsted weight wool & Soybean yarn and has a lovely colour change working through the balls and I am using size 6mm needles

The pattern can be found on the Lincraft website Here

Actually I have found the rhythm of knitting enjoyable once again and hopefully I'll soon have another scarf to wear :)

Bye for now

~ Gillian ♥

a little handwarmer love.....

 What a great pattern!

so fast and easy you can crochet them in an evening.

 I whipped these up last night with some of the left over yarn from my wool eater blanket.

As today was a rainy cold winters day, I enjoyed wearing them.

I think I'll pull out some other colours and work up a few more pairs.

You can find the pattern by creativeyarn

on Ravelry Here
and on creativeyarn's blog Here
The pattern only has the scalloped edging on the finger end of the gloves, I also added it to the foundation edge. 
..............................

I thought I would show you my current big project for this winter.
I am making my son a Vintage Dr Who Scarf
(Tom Baker season 16)

I love these gorgeous 1970s colours :)

The original scarf was knitted, but I'm not much of a knitter so am working it in Tunisian Crochet Purl Stitch...this is also the first time I've made anything in Tunisian Crochet and I'm quite pleased with how the front side of the purl actually looks quite similar to knitting purl stitch.
I've got a long way to go, If you are familiar with Dr Who you will know this is an extremely long scarf, and so far I am only about 20% of the way.

Have a great week everyone

~ Gillian ♥

sweet little hat for a sweet little girl....

 Last night I worked up this sweet little hat for a dear little girl....

she makes our whole family smile each time we see her ♥

 The pattern for this hat is called

Any Size, Any Yarn Hat

because you can make it using any type of yarn and you can make it in any size you want from micro preemie to adult male as all of the measurements have been worked out in the pattern.

I love the way the front post stitch is worked in this pattern, it really keeps the pattern interesting and it is so quick to make.  The designer, Thomasina Cummings has done a wonderful job with this pattern and I would have happily purchase more of her designs to work with in the future.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry Here

and for the flower I used Mel Paton's free flower pattern

which is also available on Ravelry Here and on her Blog Here

For this hat I used lincraft cosy wool 8ply (100gm ball) & 4.5mm hook

I worked the 6-12month size and I used a little over 1/2 of the ball of wool.

Have a creative day

~ Gillian ♥

a little kitchen love....

Last week I was given a big bag full of Chokos, we have been enjoying eating them but as we had plenty I decided I would make some Choko pickles.

I found this easy and really simple recipe Here. 

So cut up the Chokos and Onions last night and soaked them as per the recipe. 

This morning I got to work at making a batch.  It was so easy and really fun, I haven't made pickles for several years and had almost forgotten to sense of pride filling those little bottles gives you.  Preserving food is such a simple and worthwhile process, when you have your own veg garden or are given some from a friend's garden.  I know my friend who gave me the chokos will be pleased to receive a couple of bottles of  choko pickles in return for sharing her lovely garden produce...

This recipe made 12 & a half 200ml bottles of Delicious Pickles.... I might try the same recipe when our cauliflowers are ready to be picked.

have a happy day

~ Gillian ♥